Fairy Tail: My Magic is a Yu-Gi-Oh! Deck — Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Having an Affair?

I failed.

These four simple words stirred up a massive storm among the normally raucous Fairy Tail guild members. Mugs of ale stopped halfway to open mouths. Natsu and Gray froze mid-brawl, their hands still gripping each other’s collars. Absolute disbelief washed over the crowd. Although they were a stubborn bunch, everyone had to admit that Chase’s title as an S-Class Mage was earned through brutal, obvious combat, without a single drop of exaggeration.

For a man of his caliber to fail a ten-year mission was completely unthinkable.

“Is that so? Even you couldn’t manage it…” Makarov stood atop the bar counter, his bushy white eyebrows knitting together in surprise. “What exactly happened?”

In the Guild Master’s estimation, Chase’s raw strength might not have guaranteed a flawless speedrun, but completing the request shouldn’t have been particularly difficult. It was merely a matter of spending enough time to grind it out. Honestly, that was the fundamental reason Makarov had sent him away on such a long-term job to begin with: so he could do missions and not stay in the guild hall all day causing endless headaches for the old man.

Hearing the question, Chase let out a soft breath and hopped onto a stool at the bar.

“Following the normal procedure, there wouldn’t have been a problem. But my luck ran dry. Just as I was wrapping things up, I encountered a giant dragon. Entirely crimson.”

He spoke with a terrifyingly calm cadence, recounting the event as if he were discussing the weather rather than a mythical beast.

However, dropping those words inside the Fairy Tail guild was like detonating a magical bomb. Waves of gasps echoed through the hall.

“A giant dragon? An entirely crimson one? Hey, hey, Chase, if I’m hearing you right, you mean the terrifying monsters from the fairy tales, right? Not just some fancy title!”

“Dragons are real?! How strong is a monster like that?!”

“Wait, you actually survived a dragon attack?!”

Questions rained down from every direction as the members swarmed the bar, shouting over one another in a frenzy of excitement and fear.

Standing near the request board, the newcomer Lucy was so shocked by the explosive revelation that she clamped both hands over her mouth, completely frozen in place.

“Everyone shut up!” Natsu shoved his way to the front of the pack, his fists clenched and his dark eyes burning with a manic intensity. “Chase! Was the dragon you encountered Igneel?!”

Chase cast a lazy glance downward. His sharp gaze seemed to pierce straight through the pink-haired Dragon Slayer’s flesh, briefly catching the immense, dormant presence of the Fire Dragon King hidden deep within the boy’s soul.

“That monster breathed fire, sure. But it’s a pity. Its name wasn’t Igneel.”

The light vanished from Natsu’s face for a fraction of a second, but in the blink of an eye, his passion and excitement erupted with twice the heat.

“Hey! You all heard that, right?!” He spun around to face the guild, throwing his arms wide. “Dragons really exist! I told you I was raised by the Fire Dragon King Igneel!”

His guildmates exchanged fond but weary glances. They humored him, but after years of fruitless father-seeking, his companions had long lost interest in the tales of Igneel. Chase’s news, however, was a massive shot of adrenaline straight into Natsu’s convictions, further strengthening his determination to find his old man.

“So, Chase… did you actually fight that dragon?” Mirajane leaned over the counter, her blue eyes tight with concern. “Were you injured?”

The memory of the blistering heat flickered across Chase’s expression, leaving a trace of solemnity and a hint of lingering isolation.

“Strictly speaking, you couldn’t even call it a battle. That thing possessed an absurd level of power. With a single Fire Dragon’s Breath, the entire monster army I summoned was incinerated to ash. I was completely outmatched. I barely managed to slip out of its claws by burning a Spell Card to escape.”

His serious demeanor vanished in a flash. He leaned closer to Mirajane, flashing a roguish grin. “But I am definitely injured. My fragile heart suffered a terrible fright. I desperately need to go on a date with a beautiful lady to soothe my trauma.”

“Is that so…” Mirajane let out a quiet, relieved breath, glad he was physically unharmed. Then, a playful glint caught her eye. She raised a slender finger and pointed straight at Lucy, who was currently trying to blend into the floorboards like a terrified minion. “What a coincidence. Lucy is a top-notch beauty, both in face and figure.”

“Huh?!”

Lucy jumped, her hair practically standing on end as her eyes darted around frantically.

‘As a newcomer with zero presence, how did I just get dragged into the crossfire?! Mira, did you just sell me out?!’

Chase rubbed his chin, looking Lucy up and down with an appraising nod. “Lucy, huh? Well, she’s a bit silly, but as a date, I suppose she’s acceptable.”

Lucy’s jaw dropped. ‘What do you mean, a bit silly?! If you don’t know how to talk properly, just shut up!’

“Acceptable, huh…”

Mirajane straightened her posture, her hands folding elegantly over the apron of her wine-red dress. The smile on her lips grew noticeably brighter and sweeter, yet the air around her suddenly plummeted in temperature, radiating a terrifying, invisible danger.

“Ah, haha, you know, thinking about it carefully, my heart feels completely healed now that I’m back in the guild!” Chase threw his hands up in immediate surrender, laughing nervously as he scratched the back of his head.

Lucy watched the exchange, her eyes narrowing as the sting of the insult faded. A burning curiosity took its place.

‘Wait a second. Is there something going on here? I definitely need to interrogate Natsu and Happy about this later!’

“Alright, it’s good that you made it back in one piece.” Makarov lowered his eyes, shifting his expression into a mask of authority as he waved a hand toward the stairs. “But Chase, I need a detailed report on the entire mission. Come up to the second floor.”

Even though the ten-year mission had an extremely high danger level, failing it meant losing the client’s trust and damaging Fairy Tail’s reputation. Subsequent compensation and damage control were essential. Yet, Makarov hardly cared about the paperwork. His real concern was the mysterious crimson dragon. He had never personally laid eyes on a creature that supposedly only existed in legends, and the news filled him with a potent mix of curiosity and dread.

Before Chase could even stand, a blur of pink hair shot past him. Natsu sprinted for the stairs, completely blinded by his desperation for dragon lore, entirely forgetting the absolute rule that only S-Class Mages were allowed on the second floor.

Thump!

A massive shadow eclipsed the stairway. A giant, magically enlarged fist slammed down from the ceiling, driving Natsu face-first into the floorboards with a bone-rattling crash.

“Natsu! You are not qualified to come up yet!” Makarov barked, showing zero leniency.

The reason he wanted to talk to Chase privately, away from the Guild members, was that he was worried the existence of dragons would cause psychological trauma to the children, making them unable to stand firm and advance to higher ranks. Natsu, having been raised by a dragon since childhood, was actually fine, but the Guild’s rules couldn’t be broken. Anyway, given the fire mage’s stubborn personality, Makarov knew Natsu would eventually badger Chase for the information regardless. That would be Chase’s headache to deal with.

“Haha, try your best to get promoted to S-Class soon, little brother Natsu.” Chase stepped right over the groaning Dragon Slayer, adding insult to injury with a smug, infuriating grin.

“Bastard! After this year, I’ll definitely be S-Class!” Natsu roared into the floorboards, his teeth grinding together. But under the crushing weight of the Guild Master’s authority, he abandoned any thought of forcing his way up the steps.

Seeing their most reckless warrior forced into submission, the rest of the guild swallowed their burning curiosity. They shrugged and drifted back to their tables, resuming their drinking and brawling.

However, one person did not return to the bar. Mirajane quietly stepped out from behind the counter and followed Chase up the stairs.

Makarov caught the movement out of the corner of his eye. He glanced back, then silently faced forward again. Though her personality had softened drastically into that of a harmless barmaid after the tragedy years ago, her status as an S-Class Mage remained absolute. He had no grounds to stop her.

“Hey, Happy.” Lucy watched the hem of Mirajane’s dress disappear around the second-floor landing. The burning soul of a gossip finally overwhelmed her restraint. She nudged the blue cat beside her with an elbow. “What exactly is the relationship between Mira and Chase?”

“Does Lucy want to know?” Happy rolled his large eyes, slowly raising a single white paw. “Trade the secret for a whole box of dried fish!”

“A box?! I haven’t even paid my rent yet!” Lucy gasped, her hands instinctively flying to the flat leather wallet strapped to her waist.

She had just joined the guild, hadn’t taken a single decent job, and was barely scraping by on pennies. Where was she supposed to find the money to buy premium fish for a greedy cat?!

“Aye! Then my lips are sealed!” Happy turned his head away with a smug, dismissive hmph.

“You damn cat!” Lucy hissed, her shoulders trembling with sheer frustration.